
                                                  HEXMINES

                                     Mines on the hexagonal grid.

1. Introduction

Hexmines is a game of logic, where your task is to find a path through a minefield. For each position (hex) you step on, you are informed on the number of neighbor hexes in which there are mines. If you step on a hex with a mine, you lose. You can mark hexes with mines by clicking while pressing a chosen modifier key. The game has more help in the built-in help boxes.

The game has basically the same rules as the game of Mines by Daniel Griscom, which is the Mac version of a SunTools game by Tom Anderson. The main differences are:
- Hexagonal grid.
- High score list, listing players who have won with the highest number of mines in the minefield.
- Auto-searching through empty areas (a feature also included in Daniel Griscom's version).
- In color when available. 8-bit color is recommended. In 4 bits, it looks best in grayscales.
- "Superclick" feature.

There are several other similar games - more than a dozen just for the Mac. In some (most), the task is not to find a path but rather to locate all mines in the minefield, usually within a time limit. (E.g. Bombs by Christer Ericson.) I prefer the path-finding problem in Mines, so that's how Hexmines work, though it nowadays has the other goal too, as an option.

2. Legal nonsense

Hexmines 2.0 is © 1991-1995 by Ingemar Ragnemalm, and is freeware. This means that it is free for you to use and re-distribute, but not to sell. Commercial distribution is prohibited without my written permission.

3. Compatibility

Hexmines should work on all Macs using system 6 or later. With older system versions, the sampled sounds are replaced by beeps.

4. News in this version

The biggest change from version 1.0 to 1.1 is the revised color graphics. Hexmines 1.0 only used the "standard Quickdraw" colors, which is limited to 8 colors. This version uses "Color Quickdraw" which allows more colors. I have tried to choose colors that makes it look ok in 4-bit color, though it looks best in 8-bit color (256 colors).

The "superclick" feature was also added. It allows you to step on all hexes around a hex that you have already stepped on, except hexes that you have marked with a bomb. This feature is also in Bombs, but is slightly improved in Hexmines 1.1: the game checks if the number of bombs around the hex matches the number written in the hew, and if these numbers do not match, it just gives a short beep.

In version 1.2, (through versions 1.1.1 to 1.1.5) lots of minor changes have been made.
Ą B/W graphics are revised.
Ą No modifier key for superclicking (suggested by Joseph Becker - makes superclicking less confusing and also means that any modifier key can be used for marking).
Ą Option to switch click or mark with or withour modifier key.
Ą Option not to ask for number of mines at each new game.
Ą When a board setup fails (no solution), it tried again until it succeeds or the user aborts.
Ą Nicer highscore window - though the custom font is not entirely satisfactory.
Ą Uses a preference file in the system folder for settings and highscores, but *only* if the game is locked (AutoDoubler, run from a locked disk, file server etc).
Ą Balloon help.
Ą Three different gameboard sizes.
Ą Two game modes: Find The Path (like in older versions) and Find All (like in most other related games). NOTE: The formula for calculating scores in Find All mode might still not be perfect.
Ą Offscreen buffered graphics - much faster screen updates (once the game board has been initialized)! Now it should work better on your Classic, Hans!
Ą Better error handling. Hexmines is able to turn off "offscreen" buffering when the memory is too low, and is also less likely to crash due to memory problems.
Ą Various cosmetic changes (explosion, highlights latest highscore etc).
Ą Bug fixes - of course!

Version 1.2.1 fixes a drawing bug that caused the cursor to flicker when the mouse button is held down.

Version 2.0 introduces the following changes:
Ą Hexagonal window and playing field! You now start in the left corner and (in Find The Path) work toward the right corner.
Ą Significantly faster in 8-bit color - to the expense of a much higher memory demand.
Ą The text in the top looks a little better.
Ą Fixed a bug Đ clear high scores didn't clear "find all" high scores!

5. Final words.

This game started as one of my faster hacks. After I made Bikaka (TetrisŞ on the hexagonal grid), I got the idea that perhaps Mines could be fun on a hex grid. After making the first version, I though it wasn't such a good idea after all and put it aside. Later, one of my friends claimed it was one of the best games on my Mac. I don't think he is right, but it encouraged me to polish it a bit more and distribute it.

I have enhanced it quite a bit since then, mostly because it is still one of my simplest games, which makes it suitable as testing platform for new features, like color and the preference file handling. I know that it isn't very original (considering that there are at least 18 "mines"-style games for the Mac), but I think it's pretty good in its niche.

The game is written in Think Pascal using the TransSkel library by Paul DuBois and Owen Hartnett.

Many thanks to the playtesters, including but not limited to the following persons: Folke Sšderstršm, Stefan Wrammerfors, Hans Persson, Eva L. Ragnemalm, Christer "Chrisp" Pettersson, Ralph Martin, Leo Breebaart, Mike Kim, Chris Kidwell, N.W. Choe, Steve Kohler, Leonard Cayetano, Dave Polaschek, Eric Lundquist, Joseph Becker, Tonio Loewald and Jouni Miettunen. (I can't keep track of all people who have tested, suggested improvements and encouraged me.) Color Finder icon by Quarlie. Testers for 2.0: Leo Breebart, Lyman Green, Anders Lundqvist, Carl Hoeger.

I have made a bunch of other games for the Mac. They include:

1ĄBachman, pseudo-3D Pacman game.
1ĄSlime Invaders, shoot-em-up game.
1ĄBikaka, hexagonal Tetris.
1ĄMacSokoban, puzzle game.
1ĄClassic Daleks, simple puzzle game.
1ĄHeartQuest, "soft" action game.
2ĄISG, slalom game.
2ĄChristmas'94, jigsaw puzzle
2ĄBert, similar to Q*Bert.

All games are in color, but work in b/w and are tested under both System 6 and 7. The games marked with a 1, plus Hexmines and a few minor items, are my "shareware game pack #1" while the games marked with 2 are in pack #2 (which might include more when you read this). If you use more than one of the games, please consider paying for it. Pack #1: $15. Pack #2: $10. Both: $20. (Cash, please) The packs will be mailed to you on a diskette or two.

As stated above, the game is free, but I enjoy fan mail and bug reports. Send them either by E-mail to ingemar@isy.liu.se (old E-mail address) or ingemar@lysator.liu.se (new E-mail address, preferred), or by ordinary mail to:

Ingemar Ragnemalm
Plšjaregatan 73
S-58330 Linkšping
SWEDEN